57
{
}
Later on these houses became
narrower and more cramped as the
marriage of each son or grandson
required ever more sub-divisions
to pass down a piece of property to
the next generation. These houses
turned into complex rabbit warrens
encompassing the occupancy of many
generations. Families try to hang onto
them, no matter how dilapidated,
because they are worth a fortune given
their central location.
The FrenchQuarter
Venture south of the Old Quarter and
you’ll reach the French Quarter, lined
with leafy boulevards, posh hotels,
state-run bookshops and art galleries.
Pastel-yellow
faux
-
stone walls and
green timber-shuttered windows are
all around, and you could be forgiven
for thinking that this is Europe. The
French colonial era is evidenced
by administrative offices, embassy
buildings and colonial mansions owned
by high-profile officials.
“
The prominence of French colonial
architecture in Hanoi sets it apart from
other Vietnamese cities — in particular,
it’s strikingly different from Ho Chi Minh
City,” Ian, an Australian expat in Hanoi,
enthuses. “What were once the central
administrative offices of Indochina
—
the stand-out bastions of French
civilisation in the far-flung East — now
stand proud as the bricks and mortar,
or rather, stone and tile, of a proud and
resilient socialist republic.”
A lot has changed since the first
French colonial building was built in
Vietnam. Of course, change is to be
expected — more than 150 years have
You’ve got some
Gaul: (top) Hanoi
Opera House and
(
above) the Sofitel
Metropole Hotel are
the best examples
of French colonial
architecture in Hanoi;
(
right, far right)
shuttered windows
and balconies are a
common sight in the
French Quarter
H I S T O R I C A L H A N O I
